The New York Knicks’ new point guard had contended the 30-year-old “abused the privilege by going on a nationwide, pretrial media blitz over the past week, which included phone interviews and a news conference”.
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On Tuesday afternoon, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled that the woman who accused National Basketball Association star Derrick Rose and two of his friends of gang rape will not be allowed to use her “Jane Doe” pseudonym in the trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 4.
But on Tuesday, the US district judge hearing her case ruled that once the civil trial begins October 4, she can no longer hide behind her protective pseudonym. The woman, who has been identified as “Jane Doe” in court documents, alleged that Rose and two of his friends raped her in 2013 while she was heavily intoxicated. They have denied the allegations and say she allowed them to enter her home and the sex was consensual.
According to the Chicago Tribune, because the case is a civil trial and not a criminal case, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald noted that there were strict rules that he planned to follow, including having an open courtroom in which the woman’s name would be used.
“I want to share my story so women can know that they are able to come forward and remain anonymous and not to have the burden or the worry that their loved ones will find out”, the woman told the Associated Press in an interview last week.
Given the announcement, Brandon Anand, a lawyer for Doe, told the Washington Post that his client is now “reluctant to move forward”.
Doe says she wants to keep her name private to keep the spotlight off her family, who she says knows nothing about her relationship with Rose. He noted that if publications chose not to use the woman’s name, then that was a journalistic decision.
“Although no charges were brought against Derrick Rose, we continue to monitor developments regarding this litigation”, said an National Basketball Association spokesman, Mike Bass, last Friday.
The trial has garnered national attention in the weeks leading up to its start, both for the case’s high-profile defendant and the country’s continued heated argument about rape, sexual consent and accountability in the courts when it comes to sentencing the convicted. The alleged victim is suing Rose for $21.5 million. That could be enough to force her to settle and allow Rose to go on with his life, which is exactly what his lawyers are seeking, understandably.
He played his first seven seasons in Chicago, winning Rookie of the Year and, in 2011, MVP honors.
In June, Rose’s lawyers filed a motion for the case to be thrown out.
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